Following his triumphant Super Bowl half-time show, Bad Bunny is set to take on his first lead acting role in the historical drama Porto Rico, a film inspired by the life of José Maldonado Román, a late 19th and early 20th century revolutionary. As reported by The Guardian, the film is a love letter to Bad Bunny's home of Puerto Rico, directed by veteran rapper René “Residente” Pérez Joglar. This project marks a significant milestone in Bad Bunny's career, as he stars alongside a talented cast, including Edward Norton and Javier Bardem.
The film boasts a star-studded lineup, with Viggo Mortensen and Alejandro G Iñárritu, director of Birdman and The Revenant, serving as executive producer. According to Deadline, the project has been in development since 2023, with a historical drama centering on the life of Maldonado Román, known as Águila Blanca (White Eagle), who fought against Spanish colonizers on the island and led uprisings against the authorities.
Maldonado Román's story is one of courage and resilience, as he participated in the Yauco Uprising in 1897, where the modern Puerto Rican flag was publicly raised on the island for the first time. His reputation as a bandit led to multiple imprisonments between 1898 and 1909, yet his skill at escaping from jail earned him the nickname “magician.” Upon the film's initial announcement in 2023, a press release promised that the production will “blend historical scope with a visceral, lyrical approach and a gripping narrative inspired by true events”.
Director's Vision
Residente, the film's director, expressed his passion for telling the story of Puerto Rico's true history, which has often been surrounded by controversy. “I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente told Deadline. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are – told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”
Bad Bunny has appeared in multiple supporting roles over the past decade, but Porto Rico marks his biggest film project to date. In 2022, he starred in the action thriller Bullet Train as a gang leader who faces off with Brad Pitt in a bloody knife fight. Last year, he appeared in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing as a gang leader who threatens to shoot Austin Butler.
Collaboration and Inspiration
Edward Norton praised the film, saying, “This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism.” Norton expressed his excitement about the collaboration between Residente and Bad Bunny, stating, “Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it.”
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl half-time show drew 128.2 million viewers on 8 February and set a record for social media views, with over 4 billion people watching clips of the performance on social media. In the Guardian’s review, Stefanie Fernández described the show as “a dizzying reminder of the many pantheons of Puerto Rican legends … that Benito is succeeding and never letting history forget.”
